


Only Once

by houseOfTheQueen



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Crimes & Criminals, F/M, Romance, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-06-08 16:18:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6862705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/houseOfTheQueen/pseuds/houseOfTheQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Judy Hopps has always had an abnormal life. This is a few of her stories as it takes a turn for the weirder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Petrichor

:Episode 1 : Scene 1:

Having the bite of sandwich actually turn to ash in her mouth would have been a more pleasant sensation. The act of swallowing it down took active force of will as she leaned back, craning to see down the length of the station. I saw that, right? There were too many animals in the way. Too many animals far bigger than she was. Straightening, she waited, impatient. Training forced her to keep her position, to keep her gaze long, a bit unfocused, and her ears relaxed. Her breathe barely hiked up as an opening showed her the subject of her interest. 

Barely coming to the elbow of the bear next to him, the pig was unremarkable in every respect save two. His eyes and his teeth. 

His teeth were sharp. Though they were not quite filed down to points, the canines would definitely be able to tear through meat with ease. That would have been enough to attract her attention. But it was his eyes that she fixed on. It was his eyes that sent a spike of cold straight to the pit of her stomach. She would have shoved the sandwich right back into the neon-gleam of the machine, gotten back on the train, and never come this way again if it made him wipe that look away. 

He had the look. Judy Hopps, after this long in the trade, after this long of being around Nick and other predators, knew what animals looked like when they saw something that they wanted. Not in a lust way, not in an avarice way. Something that they wanted in an older, far more savage way. 

A voice in the back of her head told her that was crazy. Judging a book by its cover had gotten her in over her head and with a foot stuck in her mouth more times than she cared to admit. But that voice was trampled on by a note of experience, by some mix of intuition and policing je ne sais qua that told her that the pig was not just someone who had an alternative sense of a good diet. He had malicious intent, was practically dripping with it. 

A drop of confirmation came a moment later as she followed his gaze. On the receiving end of the look was a squirrel. She had bright hazel eyes that danced animatedly above a shining smile. As she walked out of the bathroom a little way down the wall to Judy’s left, her head bobbed away to her own internal beat. Her ears, tufted with little points of white hair, were held erect and her tail was smoothly drifting from side to side as she walked down the length of the station, a bit of a spring in her step. The backpack slung over her shoulder had a ‘Vote Lionheart’ pin and a ZU logo on the back. Judy’s heart sank. The squirrel was taking the other exit, was going to walk right past the pig.

His eyes were an icy, icy blue. They flashed over the station, once, and then latched back on, almost lovingly, to the squirrel’s back, tracking like a motion-activated camera as she walked past him. The station was starting to empty out of passengers. So Judy was able to see him clearly as he pushed away from the wall that he had been leaning on, let out a casual puff of air, and started after the squirrel. Judy made the decision to follow and was moving away from the machine before she had time to second guess herself. Thoughts of the wedding that she had been going to, of getting in out of the cold and spending time socializing with the Tundra Town mafia drifted out of her head. In one smooth motion, she sealed up the saran-wrapping around the machine-bought sandwich and dropped it into one of the pockets of her coat. Cramming her other paw into the opposite pocket, she palmed the contents. A stick of gum, the keys to their apartment, but no smooth plastic grip. 

A smile, as cold as the air in the train station, drifted onto her face before being replaced by a look of determination. What a good night to have given her stun gun back to the quartermaster. Oh well. I can take him, anyways. Judy kept her eyes on the back of the pig’s head as she wove past a few chatty deer. He was moving up the escalators, hands crammed into pockets and eyes forward. In the dim light, he was more outline than defined figure. As she moved onto the bottom step, Judy glanced up at the banner overhanging the sloping tunnel to the surface. “Happy New Years!”

Muttering “This is going to be a weird year.”, Judy Hopps followed a pig and a squirrel out into the Tundra Town night. 

End of Scene  
Current Objective: Trail suspect until probable cause can be established.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys and gals,  
> I appreciate the reading and would be doubly appreciative of any feedback you can give. Thanks and hang on tight, *it's going to be a bumpy ride.*


	2. Skin-Walker

:Episode 1 : Scene 2:

There is a certain point in the lower streets of Tundra Town where the air is just right to suck the breath away from any small creature who steps into its embrace. The canyon of buildings outside of Hooves Station was one such place. Wind cut through Judy’s jeans, trench coat, and blouse like they were not even there. As she shook herself and started moving again, she briefly glanced back and around. Judy would have sworn, under oath, that there were icicles already forming in the tufted white of her tail. Grimacing, she tucked her ears in, pulled her collar up, and leaned into the wind, squinting to make out where her quarry had gone.

There they were, off to the left. The pig had about forty feet on her, and was trailing the squirrel at a respectable distance. Enough to allay any suspicions, but still close enough to not get lost along the way. _Where are we going?_ Judy puzzled it out, trying to draw up what she knew from long nights of beats along darkened streets. She had been on the night shift for the past two years, one as a patrol officer and the last, the best, as a detective. But all her mind’s eye could come up with was the warm glow of the fireplace in Mr. Big’s office.

_If you don’t know the lay of the land, get inside their heads_. That was not her own mental voice. It was too deep, too male, and too foxy. But welcome all the same. _Okay, Nick_. She glanced longingly at a pay phone, just barely visible through the lattice-grating on the window of a closed drug store. If only she could make that call, it would all be over sooner. _Okay_. She knew the squirrel was a student, was probably headed home. That hopefully meant that she was going to live close to the station. She was tired after a long day at school, on New Year’s Day no less. She was dedicated. She was freezing, and just wanted to get in out of the cold into her apartment. _Sounds a little like me._

In all likelihood, she would not have noticed the pig yet.

As her thoughts turned to the porcine form in front of her, Judy sped up a little. Cold bit into the tips of her uncovered feet. Ice. _Black ice_! The warning flashed and she dodged around the gleaming, translucent puddle of slick sidewalk before even registering that it was there _._ But the guiding-sense that had pushed her to follow the pair out of the station was driving her forward again before she could even consider caution. Since she had turned her thoughts to what the pig was thinking, she knew she needed to catch up to them. After all, he was going to have to make a move before the squirrel got home.

Tundra Town, around the central station and the canal at least, was built up from the influx of coldies. It was supposed to be a winter wonderland, a showcase of the climate zone for tourists to see and the rich to not wander out of. There were shops, coffee houses, restaurants, and a general atmosphere of good cheer that made it a good place to spend an evening. Judy also knew that these activities meant more lights, more moonlighting officers, and more cameras. _Maybe I'm becoming cynical. I wonder if I should thank Nick for that or not._ This was not that part of town, though.  The side street that they were moving along, unplowed and with a good two inches of snow over the most recent clearing of the sidewalk, was unlit. On one side, all of the stores had sliding metal shutters closing them off from the outside world. Overhanging the other was the bullet-train track. Its piers loomed out of the darkness like the tips of icebergs, warning of hazards buried below. Judy tried to look at the street as it would be during the day, as it would be with a little bit of life, as it would be in a few hours when the three of them had concluded their business. She had probably seen this street a hundred times before from the train, without realizing it. _So why is it so hard to imagine it as anything else?_

Their squirrel leader rounded a corner.

The pig sped up.

Judy followed suit, breaking into a jog to reach the stoop of the bar that occupied the corner. A quick glance up brought her the unlit neon tubing over the bar’s entrance, spelling out “Pac’s Ice”. She skidded to a stop and carefully, carefully poked her head around the side of the building, nose twitching.

Her eyes watered with a fresh blast of cold air. Frustrated, she wiped them clear and looked again.

No one.

Her heart dropped out of her chest.

_Where…?_

Edging away from the stoop of Pac’s Ice, she took one step onto the new street. Two, three more and then she leaned forward, probing the dark with all of her senses. Despite the cold, her ears perked up and out of the neck of her trench coat, rotating, searching for some sound. Identical frosted over houses, run-down offices and shuttered buildings marched off into the gloom.

In the gale, even her sharp-hearing was barely able to catch the sound of a bug zapper.

**_Zzzoorrchhh_ **

Judy bolted forward. Arrowing in the alley that the sound had come from, she pelted across the snowy concrete. Wind bit into her face. And Judy slid on one foot into the alley.

The pig had the squirrel already. He was leaning over her spasming form, with a knee planted in the small of her back. He was hogtying the squirrel, would have it done in a moment if she did not get a move on. It was time to make her play.

_Step one: verbal domination._

“Stop! ZPD, hands in the air. Nonononono, eyes forward. Don’t move a muscle. Nick, move. ‘ve got you.”

She smirked. He had gone rigid, facing away from the mouth of the alley. The boar had glanced back, sudden uncertainty etching his face, but Judy’s voice had whipped his head forward again before he could have gotten a good look at her. At her and her alone. He was still leaning on the squirrel, though.

“Stand up nice and slow. Let’s see those hands. Good, you’re doing good. Ma’am?”

The squirrel groaned. The pig had not quite gotten the zip-ties on her.

“Ma’am, can you hear me? Hog, move against the wall, spread your legs. Do IT!” She shouted the last bit, having moved to within a few strides of the pair. He was smirking, but he moved to comply.

“Ma’am? Ma’am? My name’s Officer Hopps, I need you to stand up. Can you move?”

Twitching, moving her head towards the sound of her voice, the squirrel nodded once, twice, and then slowly, agonizingly so to Judy, got her arms underneath her and levered herself into something roughly akin to a yoga pose. Her eyes, such a bright hazel in the lights of the station, were dazed and unfocused. She nodded again, and started to her feet.

“What’s your name? Stay there, pig. I’ve got you.” _Stay cold. Keep control, but don’t piss him off._ Reaching out a hand, she gripped the squirrel’s paw and levered her up, easily supporting the smaller mammal. She only came up to Judy’s shoulder, and felt like she was a quarter her weight.

“B-barbaraah Ehlm.” Her voice was slurred, and slightly hesitant. Not good. For the first time, Judy smelled the air of the alley. It was rank with fear scent. Her heart beat faster, her hand tightened on the squirrel’s, and she felt like fleeing back the way that she had come. There was something else in the air though, something metallic and electrical. Ozone. It gave Judy the focus that she needed to press on.

“Alright, Barbara. I like your jacket, by the way. Listen, I need you to head on home and call ZPD. Tell them to come to the corner by Ice Pac’s. Can you do that for me?”

“I think I’m going to throw up.”

“That’s alright, honey. I just need you to make that call.”

“O-okay.” There were tears in her eyes, but she was already starting to look a bit better. Judy cast her a smile, and gave her a firm but gentle push towards the mouth of the alleyway. The pig had not even bothered to strip her backpack off. Limping out of the alley, Barbara rounded the corner and headed off to the left.

And then there were two.

A beat, a moment of silence. It turned into a second, and then five. Judy’s breathe fogged out in front of her eyes. Six.

“Stay right there handsome.” Seven. The pig shifted from one foot to the other. Eight. Her hands, not quite having anything to do, worked in the air at her sides. Nine. She wished Nick was actually there with her.

Ten.

“You know, Officer Hopps.” The pig’s voice was actually a charming tenor, warmth dripping off of it as he slowly enunciated each word. That did not keep an icy drop from sliding down Judy’s spine as he continued “I think we are alone, you and I.”

“Nick’s the strong, silent type.”

“But I somewhat doubt that he is that quiet.”

“Do you know him? No, no you don’t.” The gig was up, though. _Time for plan B._ Judy stripped off her trench as he pushed off from the wall and turned. The apartment key found its way into her hand and she lodged it there between her fingers. _An extra inch of claws is another inch of life_.

 “I do not know him. But I think that you and I are going to get _acquainted_.” He flashed his canines, a snarling mockery of a smile. It came to her then just how wrong the situation felt. This was an omnivore and prey at that. That was what her mind was _gibbering,_ anyways. So the fact that it felt like something else was in the alley with her, something that was predatory, and feral, and alien, and wrong only pushed her away. Judy edged back from him, ears straight up, coat held loosely at her side. She tried for the street.

He smoothly stepped between her and the entrance of the alley in the time it took her to blink. The pig growled, a deep throaty thing that got her hair to stand on end. In that moment, it was emphasized for Judy just how much bigger he was than her. She was tall for a rabbit, or at least she was taller than her parents. But another Judy could have stood on her shoulders and _she_ would have still been looking up to meet the pig’s eyes.

Judy took another step back. Judy Hopps had never run from a fight before. But the thought of being forced further into the blind alley was unacceptable. The thought of the predatory thing in the skin of a pig in front of her was worse. She let loose a snarl of her own.

“Who-“

_It_ cut her off, fluidly reaching into its jacket and slashing towards her in the same motion. There was a look of perfect serenity on its face. It was only as the object came towards her that she was able to identify it for what it was. A stun stick, black polymer grips and two prongs on the end. Ozone filled the alley again.

She lashed the jacket forward, catching the tip of the stunner and turning it away from her body.  Already moving forward, Judy used her momentum to launch a kick into the thing’s gut. He let out a great puff of air, and crumpled onto the ground. Judy only dimly recognized the cloying scent that his breathe carried, but it made her skin crawl. Something deep inside her revolted at it, told her that it was wrong. That smell should not exist in the world. But that was peripheral. She danced lightly to her feet, having landed from the kick. And promptly was bowled back to the ground.

The impact knocked the air out of her chest. Then she was moving back, lashing out a foot to connect with the side of its head. She needed to get some distance. But he took the blow in the meat of a forearm instead and slithered up her body. _Too fast, too fast_. Judy launched another set of kicks into the potbellied gut before her, but its owner was too close for there to be any real power in them. She needed distance, needed more space. The pig-thing was latching on, had pinned her one arm over her head and was blocking blows from the other, the one with the key. It was not able to slash through his course jacket. And then he smacked her hand down, and the key skittered away. This was going to get very bad.

Then a kick connected a little bit lower, and his eyes went unfocused for a second.

That was all she needed. He could be beaten. She could do it. Arching her back, she slammed a knee up into his groin and bodily shoved him away.

Judy rolled hard to the side. Something lumpy was underneath her, the jacket and, wrapped in its length, the stunner.

There was movement behind her. He was shifting, breathing in short gasps as he clambered to his feet. Inching forward. Charging. Coming for her.

Blue-white light flashed in the dark. Ozone and burned flesh filled her nostrils. And then her head hit the wall. Stars danced in her eyes. _I can't lose this fight._

She shook her head, clearing away a bit of the cobwebs. It had bulled through the stun prod, taking the full brunt of the prongs but still plowing into her at full speed. The force of its charge had driven both of them into the wall.

A flicker of movement and Judy’s head smacked into the wall again. The stunner dropped from her paw, clattering onto the ground. She could feel blood welling from somewhere. Dazedly she brought up her arms. And then came the storm. Blow after blow landing on her arms, trying to get at her head. It slammed a hoof into her stomach. Trying to get her to lower her guard. More body blows. And more.

Judy disappeared for a while.

**_Smack_ **

_Joke’s on him._

**_Slam_ **

_Just have to last until the cavalry gets here._

**_Pound_ **

_Just have to last until the cavalry_

**_Smack-crunch_ **

She roared, and came off the wall, flinging her own flashing series of blows at its head. They were weak, a bit slow, but he was still shaking off the electroshock. They would do. Her size worked for her here, letting her get underneath his guard and slowly wear him down.

_Just have to last_

She drove the abomination back, deeper into the alley, not letting it get a blow in, keeping his head down and his guard up. Driving him before her. Driving him onto a patch of black ice.

Realizing something was up at the last moment, he balked.  And right on cue, Judy gave him the final push. His hooves came out from under him and the pig was on his back, gasping from the impact.

Judy breathed. In and out. Blinking slowly, she wobbled on her feet. In that moment, as he lay there gasping, she could have believed that he was what he appeared. That he was just a pig, just another mammal. And then he was getting up.

“Can we go back to doing this the easy way?” The pig asked, but there was something in his voice that made Judy take a step back towards the stun rod. That was not defeat. That was a second wind, the tide getting ready to slam back onto the beach.

“If you are willing to be arrested and go to prison.” Judy warily backed away. It was getting hard to stay standing. The adrenaline that had been keeping her going was starting to wear off, and with that came pain.

_Just have to_

“Sadly, I cannot accept. I think we have another minute or so. Barbara lives two minutes further along, but in the girl’s state…” He trailed off.

“Then there is nothing more to say.” Judy was copying his speech without really meaning to, but it was so formal, so peacefully belying the situation it was impossible to resist doing.

He came off the ice. Judy met him with an outstretched fist. Which he caught. And pulled her in closer with.

Purple eyes focused on an overhanging canopy of stars, cut into a river by the two looming black shadows of buildings on either side. Blood streamed down from her nose. And the pig loomed over her. It took her a moment to work out what had happened. Working through it in her own mind felt like choking on smoke. He stared down at her for a moment longer and then spoke. The voice sounded as if it was coming from all around Judy instead of just the animal in front of her.

“I will be leaving now.”

“No. You won't.”

“No?”

“No. You can't walk away from this. ZPD will find you. I will find you. And bring you to justice.” It sounded hammed to her own ears, but she did not really mind. It kept him there.

And she meant each word.

_Keep him talking._

He seemed to be thinking it over, though. That was fine. She was okay laying there for a while. After a moment, the pig opened his eyes. “I suppose that is true. _Unfortunate_.”

Judy barely got her arms up.

Teeth flashed and he bit down, HARD.

 

End of Scene

Current Objective: _Um, survive? I don't know, that thing just latched onto my arm, don't bug me for an objective!_


	3. Pyrrhic

:Episode 1 : Scene 3:

 

Her claws ripped a gash along the side of his face, leaving three tracks marching down over his eye. The pig let out a garbled howl and bit down HARDER.  For one moment all Judy could think was that he was going to snap her arm clean in two. And then he released his grip, released her, and stumbled back a step.

Judy flopped back to the ground. Having something dig around in her flesh like a clumsy surgeon, pulling at her muscles and moving things in an entirely foreign, unnatural way was almost enough to make her black out. As she looked up at the pig, Judy almost wished that it had been. Staring, piercing eyes, sunk into its head, met hers. They were black pits, a shark’s eyes. Blood dripped down from the slashes along the side of its face, into fur gone long and wiry and gnarled. Below the snout, glistening in the dark, was a row of fangs. _That's my blood._ She shuddered, feeling real fear pulse through her for the first time in the fight. As if sensing that, peeled back lips curved into an endless smile that threatened to peel its head in half. It took a step forward, eyes never leaving her.

Judy put her arm, her right one, her good one, down and pushed. Hissing through clenched teeth, she levered herself up. _Still need to bring the bad guy down, Judy._ Each movement sent a wave of pain coursing, flowing through her core. _You can do this._ It was almost too much but, vision swimming, she managed to stand. The bunny swayed for a moment. Then, cradling her arm close to her chest, Judy Hopps spread her feet and dropped into a one handed guard.

Silence.

**Drip**

She breathed in.

**Drop**

She breathed out.

**Drip**

The pig blinked first, eyes leaving her face to track a fresh string of drops. It was cold enough that little icy stars of red were beginning to freeze at her feet. So bitterly cold.

**Drip drop**

Black eyes lifted back to hers.

_Just have to last_

**Ta too Ta too Ta too**

Screaming sirens, still distant but drawing closer by the second. Judy's ears twitched at the sound, but she kept her gaze locked on the pig. _It's only pain, it's only pain, it's only pain._ He hesitated, the dead look leaving his eyes, and then the pig was gone, a blur disappearing further into the alley.

**Ta too Ta too Ta too**

She stayed hunched for a moment, half expecting him to come running back. _He has to. We’re not done!_ When no porcine form came, Judy dazedly let her guarding arm drop back to her side. Swaying from one foot to the other, she unpeeled her other arm from her body, wincing at the wet sucking sound it made. _Is that mine?_ It had to be, right? There was a torn blouse, ripped away up to the elbow, that matched the fuchsia of hers. It was the bend that was throwing her off, the bend that had a distinctly unnatural look. There was even a bit of white sticking out, little flecks scattered amongst the red. So much crimson painted the space around the wound it might as well have been dunked in a bucket of the stuff. Whoever’s arm that was probably needed some help. She did not think it was normal for it to have a bone sticking out quite that far. _Maybe it’s an aesthetic thing, some sort of jewelry. Really elaborate, embedded jewelry. That'd be cool._  

But she knew it was not, knew it was bone. Though she wanted to call someone, she could not quite move. So she watched. A trickle of ichor coursed down, trailing along the arm. That was the best part to watch, the little streak of blood. Everything else about the arm, the tensed muscles, the hairs, the pads of the paw, seemed to be frozen in time, frozen in alternating flashes of blue and red light. The blood wove across the grey fur, leaving a trail of crimson-tinted hairs. A little river. The little drop at its head never seemed to get any smaller, though, no matter how far it went. In fact, it got larger, and larger, and larger. And then splashed down onto her uncovered feet.

It was in that moment that it clicked for Judy that the arm was her own and that she was the one who needed help. Swimming back into a bit more lucidity, she brought her arm down and cradled it to her chest, whimpering.

“I can be strong. I can be strong. I can be strong.”

The chant seemed to steal her breathe away. Time slipped. She blinked and there was someone beside her. A wolf was kneeling over her and shouting back down towards the street. His words were muffled, but she could see the air fog as he called, could see the gleam of the badge slung low on his hip. A loopy smile crept onto her face.

Her voice cracked as she said “Fangmeyer.”

“Hey Judy. You're going to be fine. Let me see that arm. There we go, let's keep it elevated. Come on, I'll walk you out to the street. Easy, easy does it. There we go, you have a seat right here. You know, when I said see you later, I didn't mean ‘see you in 30 minutes’. That's alright though, paperwork is always fun. You did good. You’re going to be fine. Just fine. Grizzoli! Any day now! Come on Hopps, stay with me. Stay awake. Hopps! Ho-“

 

End of Scene

Current Objective: ...............


	4. Lullaby

:Episode 1 : Scene 4:

 

“… that’s about it. Scratched him in the eye. Kept him from biting my arm clean off. And then sirens. Flashing lights everywhere.”

Nicholas P. Wilde ground his teeth. The hairs on the back of his neck were crawling and he found himself rooted to the spot via his claws. They were at full extension, buried in the cheap hospital chair. If there had been a pig handy, he would have gladly torn out their throat, just to prove that he could. Just to not have to sit there and be useless.

_I’ll do it to Fangmeyer if he doesn’t hurry up_.

A part of him knew that the wolf was just doing his job. The white wolf had spent the better part of the early morning with Nick, keeping him company and waiting for Judy to wake after her surgery. Fangmeyer had been the only one of the swarm of cops who seemed happy to have seen Nick waiting for them at the hospital. Nick was grateful, in his own way. And he could tell from the way that the wolf’s shoulders had hiked down, the way that his almost manic grin had slid into something saner, that he had gotten some good information to go on.

He just wished that it had not come at the very moment that Judy had woken up.

_Patience, foxy-one._

It came into his head so hard and fast that he had to look over at the bed to make sure the rabbit there had not actually spoken the words. Judy was still focused on Fangmeyer though, still playing the part of Officer Hopps, ZPD. He loved her for that. Even with the bag of heavenly goodness strapped straight into a vein on her arm, she was grimacing in pain.

_You know I'm supposed to say that to you. I guess I just can't do patience for Judes._

The bones in her arm had been atomized, practically. From what he had wormed out of the techs at the x-ray station, it was one of the worst breaks that they had seen in a long time. The veins though, those had been worse. There was still a bag of blood dripping into her. Judy was pale as a sheet. She blinked at the wolf as he cleared his throat.

“Well Hopps, that should be all that I need for now. I’ll get back with you if I think of anything else. Nick.” The wolf jerked his muzzle towards the hallway door.

Green eyes met purple, conferred, and agreed. Nick sighed out, long suffering, and levered himself out of the seat. The seat wanted to come with him.

“Stay chair. I have to show the nice detective the door.” It was a weak joke, but he could cut himself some slack. It had been a long night. He brushed her feet, casual, tickling with the ends of his claws, as he slouched out.

The wolf stalked into the hall. Nick had noticed that it was not quite possible for Fangmeyer to do anything else: he simply went about with that graceful, tip of the toe motion that indicated either a hunter or dance training. A part of him would have been amused if it were actually the latter.

Closing the door, the detective took a few steps down the hall and then turned to face him. Nick took a beat of time to sweep the hall before joining him. There was a weasel in scrubs reading over some paperwork, but he was some way down the hall, too far off to be in earshot. Otherwise, they were alone. The Arctic wolf rubbed a paw across his eyes, then stared at Nick a moment, a bit of hesitation in his body language. Idly, the fox noticed there were bags under the usually sharp and candid eyes. Nick decided after a moment that he would have to be the one to get the ball rolling this time.

“Spit it out, Sweets.”

“One time, one time you find me with a tub of candy.”

“One was enough. I can remember the look you were giving those treats, like they were the best thing since you found out you had a tail. Or a big steak.”

“Never had a steak. Don't really want to after this one.”

That sobered Nick up. Point of fact, the smile skittered off his face faster than a Pawpsicle melted in July.

“What did you want to tell me?”

“You can tell Hopps this too. This one is not looking great right now. That squirrel that made the call.”

“Barbara Elm.”

“Right. She wasn't there.”

“What?”

“After we picked up Judy and couldn't find the pig, some uniforms and Grizzoli went over to pick up Mrs. Elm. Her door was busted in and no one was home.”

“Thanks, Sweets.” Nick did not mean it, and that probably came across in his voice. The detective weathered the look, though.

“You'll probably know how to break that to her better than I would.” He let the fox bite on that for a moment before continuing.

“I'm going to go write up a prelim and give it to Bogo. I'll have Francine over here in a few hours to put a face with our description of the pig. Till then,” Fangmeyer stuck out a paw “get some sleep. You look worse than usual.”

Nick did not leave him hanging.

“Hardy har. Not too handsome lookin’ yourself.”

“Don’t lie, you know you’ jealous of my coat!” Fangmeyer called over his shoulder as he walked down the hall.

The fox waited a moment in the empty corridor, watching him go. He had to admit, if there was anyone that he would have wanted to catch the case, it would be Fangmeyer. Other than himself and Judy, of course.

“But we can't have that.”

With that, Nick turned and took the few steps back to the door of the hospital room. It was not that he doubted the reasoning behind keeping those involved with a case off of it. That part made perfect sense. He just really wanted to be there to use his own teeth on that pig.

His thoughts slammed to a halt as he shouldered the door open.

Then, a moment later, they continued on a calmer path, as he took the gentle steps over to the side of her bed. For her statement to be any sort of admissible in court, Judy had cranked the pain medicine down. His tough little bunny’s eyes were lidded with sleep as he covered the steps to the side of her bed.

“Carrots.” Nuzzling up against her cheek, he waited for a response. One came a moment later, though it was not quite the one he was hoping for. Drool dripped down onto the tip of his muzzle, dampening his nose.

“Asleep already, hon?”

Nick smiled. It was just as well. They would be able to talk when she was feeling more up to it.

_“Sleep little rabbit, down below_

_Keep yourself warm from the rain and snow._

_I just want to hold you, keep you near,_

_In our den, we two, we won't sleep in fear._

_This I promise you, it will be okay,_

_‘Cause in the morning is a brand new day.”_

He finished stroking her ears, and straightened. A shotgun salute of spine pops greeted the motion and he grimaced. There was a decision to be had here, and it was going to have to be driven by caution. Nick knew that, had lived the cautious life for a good two decades. Though recent times had brought him out of his shell a bit, had let him take some chances, this was still something that he was not sure he wanted to have to deal with. Because no matter how accepting mammals were getting, there was still the chance that some nurse would walk in on a predator and a prey, a fox and a bunny together in the same bed, and see nothing but a monster and a victim.

So Nicholas Wilde, instead of crawling in beside his bunny, scooted his cheap plastic chair beside her bed, propped his head up on a hand, and nodded off to sleep.


	5. Vows

: Episode 1 : Scene 5 : Vows

There was a kink in his neck. _Thank you, plastic hospital chair._ Sitting up, Nick snatched a glance at the clock. Not enough time had passed, in his estimation. He could sense movement in the hall again, though, and that meant it was time to get up. To Nick’s thinking, hospitals were a weird mix of timelessness and the march of time, in the patient rooms at least. There was only the slow beep of monitoring equipment and the buzz of fluorescents to mark the beats of life. Without windows, lights, scents or any of the other natural signs of the passage of time, it would be difficult to tell if the outside world had simply frozen over. At the same time, the nurses came and went, and there was a certain cycle, a certain breathing life to the building itself that made it just possible to not crawl the walls with boredom or insanity. 

Languidly, Nick straightened out of the chair and stretched up to the tips of his toes. _Oh, that_ _’s much better_. A blurry glance brought him the still form of Judy, sleeping peacefully in the middle of the over-sized bed. Not wanting to disturb her, Nick padded out of the room. _There_ _’s got to be coffee around here somewhere._

As soon as he stepped into the corridor, the fur on the back of his neck started to crawl. The weasel who had been standing down the hall the night before ( _Or was it early this morning?)_ was still there, in almost the exact same spot, in almost the exact same position. His eyes bored holes in the file that he was holding. Nick brought a hand up and ran his claws slowly along his jaw, scratching as he went. With an internal shrug, he started forward.

The weasel only became aware of the fox once he had stepped to within a few paces of him. Though Nick was purposefully _not_ walking directly towards the smaller mammal, he still caught the twitch that ran through the weasel’s whole body as he glanced up and saw him coming closer. A quick glance down brought Nick the smaller mammal’s name.

“What’s up, Doc Flock? How long do you have left?”

“Excuse me?”

“How long on your shift?”

“Oh. An hour. Then I’m off to brave the storm.”

“There’s a storm outside?”

The weasel nodded and rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. He had closed up the folder and stuck it beneath his arm, but was still standing in the exact same spot as before.

“Yep. Storm Warden cooked it up overnight. Didn’t you hear about it on the radio? Been in the works for weeks.”

“Nah, I’m not from around here. Just visiting a friend.”

“Ah. I was going to ask. Would that friend be Ms. Hopps?”

“That’d be the very rabbit.”

“Good, is she awake yet? I wanted to go over a few things with her before I got off shift.”

“Sadly, no. She’s still eating carrots.” Nick shrugged. “Or whatever it is that rabbits do in dreamland.”

Flock’s hazel eyes crinkled and he chuckled obligingly. Shifting from one wiry leg to the other, the weasel glanced down the hall and sighed. Though his voice was full of energy, Nick could see the long hours weighing on him. His eyes grew distant as he sunk into thought.

“I’ll give her awhile, then. Thanks, Mr…”

“Wilde. How do you take your coffee, Doc?”

Needle-sharp, slightly yellowed teeth showed as Flock grinned up at him.

“Black as the night.”

“Good ‘mal. I'll bring you back some. Last question: why’re you standing here in the middle of the hall?”

“Oh, yes, I always come out here to read reports. My office.” He jerked a thumb towards the darkened passage to Nick’s right, then followed it up with a vague warding-off gesture. “Colder than a mole’s butt in there. That vent sends a nice draft of heat right here, though.”

Nick waved a hand over the weasel’s head and was indeed rewarded with a puff of hot air trailing through his fur. Nodding appreciatively, he stepped past the weasel and waved a paw in farewell.

“Take it easy, Flock.”

The hunt for coffee would have to be put on a temporary hold. Getting a chance to look at one of the wardens’ storms was not something he wanted to miss. They hardly ever deigned to cook one up, and when they did, it crashed through the city like a runaway train.  In Happy Town, the storms had left the streets filled with slate grey water up to your shins. _That was always a pleasant reminder of the amount of trash produced by a major, mammalian metropolitan area._

Winding his way through the hospital, Nicholas found the front door exactly where he had expected and congratulated it on not having wandered away sometime during the night. Standing in the middle of a glass fronted lobby space easily stretching half a city block, the front entrance consisted of a series of five rotating doors, one for every size of animal, from the tallest giraffe to the shortest mouse. They were rattling in their frames. His ears came up to attention as other sounds, other signs life that had been hidden behind the thick walls of the hospital, made themselves known. A siren blared as an ambulance crawled along the street outside. The wind howled, sounding like a thousand wheezy hippos blowing at once. From somewhere amongst the waiting, slouched chairs in the long front room, a radio that he could not pick out by sight played a Kites and Kits song.

As he stepped up to the glass, something wormed in the back of Nick’s mind. A feeling, a hint of intuition. Rather than clamp down on it, for that might have scared it away, he simply waited and watched the storm outside. It was hard to tell that it was morning through the blowing stream of snow. A seemingly impenetrable miasma hung over Tundra Town General, casting everything into the jagged contrasts of a charcoal drawing. As the ambulance rounded the corner towards the ER, the street was returned to its lonely accumulation of snow. Not a thing, not an animal moved.

With a hint of childish glee, he blew onto the glass. It fogged immediately, making an excellent pallet for two parallel strokes of his paw, and then an upward curve beneath. For one moment, Nick considered going out, throwing caution to the wind, and travelling out into the storm. Then a glance down at his clothes, at the tuxedo, loose bowtie, and cummerbund covering his thin form, sealed that away. He smirked, still letting the niggling sense that _there-is-something-I-should-be-thinking-of_ grow, and stepped back from the window. A beat later, and he was retreating deeper into the hospital, back in hunting-mode. His prey: caffeine. 

 He backtracked all the way to the ward that Judy was staying in, sticking his head in every likely room along the way. _Nothing_. As he went to step past her room, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Flock was inside, and Judy was sitting up, listening as the weasel spoke to her. _She looks fine. Get me coffee or I will leave you with this head pounding, eye-twitching, scratchy feeling all day._   Nick rolled his eyes at his internal monologue and continued down the hall, thinking he had finally picked up the delicious alkaline scent.

When he finally found a coffee pot, it was hidden away in a back corner of the ward, in what was probably supposed to be an employee break room but more closely resembled an overly-furniture ridden janitor’s closet. He pounced on the carafe. _You_ _’re mine!_ Then he found himself at a loss. In his haste to enter the room, Nick had forgone flicking the light switch. _That_ was not a problem, as there was plenty of light for his eyes. The _problem_ was the decided lack of cups on the counter. He started digging through the cabinets. _Paper plates. Napkins. A box of barf bags. Cleaning supplies for said barf. That_ _’s not supporting the assertion that this isn_ _’t the janitor_ _’s closet. Sugar, creamer, stirring sticks, and there we are._

Straightening, he held aloft a stack of Styrofoam cups, striking the pose of a knight before a dragon. _En garde , decaf demon!_ Then, for the second time that day, Nick found the fur on the back of his neck crawling. The light was wrong. There had to be something behind him.

Something _was_ behind him.

Standing in the doorway. A black silhouette. Blocking the only way out. _Stupid, stupid._ Then the lights clicked on. It was the pig. His heart roared in his chest. For one second, it only knew one word. _Kill. Kill. Kill._ Nick saw red.

“Oh, sorry. I thought you were Dr. Flock. Gave me a little scare with your eyes there. My name’s Michelle. I just got on shift. Are you visiting one of our patients? …Sir?”

Not the pig. A pig, a sow, decidedly on the thinner side of her species, wearing blue scrubs with her shirt tucked into her pants. A brown paper bag and a newspaper were held loosely at her side, while her other hand had been extended for a handshake that was starting to look like it would not happen. Her smile was just starting to wilt: it had the look of a flower that was on the edge of salvageable. Nicholas P. Wilde prided himself on being a smooth operator, so he moved in for salvage operations, chuckling away the tension and taking her hand with one of his own. There was a surprising amount of force behind her grip.

“Hi, Michelle. Sorry about that, you gave me a little scare there too. Name’s Nick. I’m in to visit Hopps.”

“Ah, right. The cop.”

“Heard of her?”

“Not before this morning.”

“In there?” He gestured at her newspaper.

“Nah, just from the late night shift.”

Though she was still answering his questions, Nick thought that he could detect a hint of tension around her eyes. Some barely perceptible tightening that she might not even be conscious of doing.

“Could I squeeze by you, Mr. Nick?”

Nodding his assent, Nick pressed up to the counter to let the pig get to the fridge. She did not quite flatten herself to the wall as she went by, but it was a close thing. He could tell that she was trying really hard to control some instinct, some knowledge that told her to run. She was trying so hard. Setting down the stack of cups, Nick noticed that he had managed to embed his claws in another piece of hospital property. _Jumpy, jumpy, aren't we?_

While he poured himself and Dr. Flock a cup each of coffee, Nick watched Michelle out of the corner of his eye. She deposited her lunch in the refrigerator; made herself look busy for a moment; watched him back.

“Do you drink coffee, Misha?”

“Misha?” A slow grin spread across her face as he waved the carafe in the air. “Yes, I do.”

He poured another cup.

Misha had an appreciation for his bad joke collection that was refreshing, and by the time they had made their way back to Judy’s room, having stopped along the way to pick up a platter of breakfast food from a cart, Nick was fairly sure that he had managed to smooth over any anxiety that she might have had. As Flock stepped out of the room, Nick pressed one of the remaining coffee cups into his hand. The weasel raised it in salute.

“L’chaim.” The weasel intoned.

“Bottoms up.” The pig murmured.

“Down the hatch.” The fox said.

They drank.

“Ugh. Good stuff. Michelle, walk with me.Flock’s tone was light, but there was a steel of underlying command. 

Misha passed the platter of food and her newspaper off to Nick. In response to his questioning look, she gave him something that was easily readable as _you-sounded-curious_. Then, casting a quick smile his way, she followed the doctor down the hall. With their heads together, the two were a picture of medical expertise. _Good_ _‘mals._ He was a little surprised to find that he meant it. And then the thought from earlier clicked into place, like a microwave timer signaling the end of cooking, and Nick almost dropped the food. _I gotta_ _’ tell Judy._  

Judy was staring off into the distance as he shouldered the door open. Turning at his entry, she smiled warmly, though it did not quite reach her eyes. He found that there was another presence in the room, something looming over them both. Nick could not quite put a word to it, and found he did not care to do so.

“Your breakfast in bed, m’lady.” He proclaimed with a flourish, smiling a little wide.

After depositing the platter astride her legs, he planted himself back in the seat next to her bed. Nick scooted the chair closer. A glance at the clock revealed that it was a little before eight in the morning. His eyes traveled to the plate. Yogurt, a bit of oatmeal, some orange juice in a plastic cup, and blueberries. _Stop avoiding her._ Judy looked like she had been hit by a truck. The night before, when she had gone to sleep, the only obvious thing wrong with her was the cast around her arm and the nose plugs holding her newly realigned nose in place. This morning, as Nick felt the caffeine washing through his system, that was decidedly not the case. The area around her nose was swollen, she had the beginning of a shiner on her right eye, and there was a decided hint of paleness remaining in her visage. As she brought up her good arm and brushed  at her ears, nervous, he caught site of even more damage.

Nick checked the door to make sure the medicos were still gone. Then, leaning forward, he locked eyes with her.

“Morning.” And kissed her.

There was a thing he had heard about intentions, but at the moment he was finding it hard to remember. Nick had meant for it to be a quick peck, but once he got within range Judy’s paw had come up and locked into place behind his ear, holding him them for a moment. A beat of fire roared in his heart. Her claws scratched through his fur, and then she let go of him.

Popping a blueberry into his mouth, Nick eyed her lazily. She was a good kisser, but that would never stop him from palming a blueberry when he wanted one. It took her a moment, and then she whipped her head down to look at her plate. After a second, Judy brought her eyes back up to meet his and tried to glare him down  until he asked “I've got some good news and some bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”

“Dumb question.”

“Point, the bunny. Okay, first tidbit, your nurse for the next eight hours is a pig.” A cloud passed over her face at that, darkening her already grey pallor. “I've taken to calling her Misha and she seems nice enough, but I thought I'd give you a heads up. Second, I have a bit of admiration for the pig.”

Judy frowned at that, though it was more confusion than anything else.

“Not Misha. The one from last night.” At this, her face darkened again, and he hurried on. _That_ was the presence. “There's a storm out there.” Nick jerked a thumb towards the door. “Big one, from the look of it. Porkie decided to- “

“Nick.”

“Sorry.” _That was a bit much._

“The pig decided to grab up Elm just a few hours before it hit. If he was planning it that way, that means that he was hoping that the storm-“

“-would wipe any traces of a struggle away. Sweat cheese-”

“-and crackers. Right. And her being missing would probably not have been reported for a couple of days, at least, without you there to interfere. Which means …” Nick trailed off.

Judy had apparently come to the same conclusion. There was a darkness in her eyes, a hint of hate and world weariness, for just a moment, just long enough to make Nick wish he could have taken back a little bit of the last few years, taken away some of the hurt and given her back some of her naïveté.

“Finish that thought.” Judy’s voice was cool.

“Which means that he wanted a head start. That he was not planning on calling in a ransom. That …” Even Nick had his limits.

“But that shouldn't matter, right? Nick?”

“It does. That's the other bit of bad news.”

“Oh? Oh. Oh……”

Nick was regretting his choice of bad news order.

She cried then. His bunny, who had been so strong, who had bit her lip through the entire interview with Fangmeyer, broke down at that. He did his best to comfort her. Judy never quite got up to full body-heaving sobs, but it was a close thing. Once it was all out, Nick handed her another in a string of tissues. Then, bringing up a paw, he ran a thumb first beneath one of her eyes, then the other, wiping away her tears. Nick settled into scratching one claw softly through the hair of her cheek, along her jaw line. He was waiting, patient, there for her, ready for what he thought was coming next.

As if on cue, her good paw came up to clamp over his own, pausing it in its motion. She was moving slow, as if in a dream. _Take your time._ Purple eyes flicked up to his green, met and locked in on them. Though her head was still tilted down, he saw her lips curl into something halfway between a snarl and a smile.

“I thought it was strange when Fangmeyer didn’t say anything about him. But…” She trailed off and then, after a moment, continued, speaking more softly. “We’ll find her. You and me. We _will_ find her. And bring her back. Take her back from that pig. Bring her home. I won't rest until it's done. I can't, it's my responsibility. I messed up, and it’s my job to get her home safe. I will find her. I will find her.” She gritted out the last sentence through her teeth, nodding her head as if to confirm the thought to herself.

_Wait_. She breathed in, he breathed in. She breathed out, he breathed out. _Alright_. Nick leaned down so that they were on a level with one another.

“Judy, two things. One, get that word ‘responsible’ out of your head. The only one who is going to hear that is a pig. You did the best you could.  No, don’t. Don’t let that stuff eat you up inside.” There was a certain savageness in his voice. “Do not.” He poked her good arm. “Let it.” He poked a finger against her _other_ arm. “Get to you. You got that because you did the best that you could. Like I said, he was probably planning this thing for a while. If you had not been there, if you hadn’t interrupted him, we would not even know that she was missing. She would be gone.” He swiped a hand through the air. “Kaput. Fin. Like a carrot in the Burrows. But you were there. Thanks to you, she has a chance. We can save her. We can get her back. And I can tear that pig apart.”

He finally had to stop for a breather. There was a hesitant smile on her face now, an actual one. She waited a moment, still cradling his paw to her cheek, and then, still speaking softly, asked “And the second thing?”

“I would expect nothing less from you. I am with you in this one hundred percent. I believe in you. And I love you.”

“That was more than one thing.” She was crying again, but Nick was relieved to read them as tears of joy. A smirk twisted the corner of his mouth up and he stood, leaning in to give her a hug. Judy Hopps, his carrot and his love, hugged him back. There was a certain joy that he hoped would never get old that came from just holding her close. She whispered in his ear.

“I am so grateful for you, you sap.”

After breaking off the embrace all too soon, Nick returned to the slightly uncomfortable chair. Purple eyes followed him, tracked the swish of his tail, moved up to his face, lingered there.

“Was there some good news that I was promised?”

“The good news is that there’s no more bad news.” He spread his arms wide, a disarming smile on his face. Nick liked to think that he let her sock the punch into his bicep.

“Jerk.”

“Ow. Okay, actually, there’s a couple things. One is that you have once again managed to avoid stardom. Must have been too late for any of the vultures to let their bosses know about a cop getting banged up.” Waving the newspaper ( _CMR: Final Presidential Debate, New Year Celebrated with a Bang, Joey Mike still Missing)_ , he caught a protesting look from Judy.

“Oh ho, don’t deny it. I heard you complain enough after the Bellwether  thing to last me a lifetime.”

He smirked at her. _I_ _’ve got you there._

“You know, I happen to remember a certain fox saying they were glad that I was complaining. Something about how they felt alright whining about the police academy because of that.”

“I only complained about the police academy because I don’t like pushups. Too many of those can be bad for you, give you muscles. And final bit of news, do you want to hear about the wedding?” It felt easier, for the moment, and it seemed to set the right tone, as Judy’s eyes lit up. Her nose twitched in that cute little way of hers when she got excited and it seemed like the bed would have a hard time containing her for a moment.

“Ooh, yes, please! Was it fun? Did you get to dance? How was Judy? Did she look pretty? Tell me tell me tell me!”

He could not resist. “Did the doc give you a shot of adrenaline? There is no natural way you should have this much energy. What’d he want to talk you about, by the by?” _Curiosity killed the cat and saved the fox._

Judy huffed out “I'm a morning rabbit. And none of your business, nosy.” As she waved her paw in his direction indignantly, he caught it and brought it up to his lips, delighting in the mild blush it gave her as he kissed the tips of her fingers.

“Alrrright. Just some abnormalities in my blood work, but he said it was nothing to worry about. So I’m not. Worrying, that is. Now come on, tell me!”

They settled in that way as Nick launched into his story of the night before, holding hands. Occasionally over the course of the telling, Judy would pull out and stuff a few more bites of food into her face, but the unwrapped grey paw always found its way back to the waiting russet one. They seemed to be made to fit together, like two pieces of an age old puzzle.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,  
> Apologies for the mildly long wait. I got a little busy.  
> I am also proud to say I now have two beta-readers. They are Arlothia( https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2414308/) and UmbraTsuki (http://archiveofourown.org/users/UmbraTsuki/pseuds/UmbraTsuki). Give them so love, they are both good folk


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